JanD

it always bugs me to download a new Arduino IDE. Why? Because I have about 15 libraries downloaded from various places over the internet. To redownload them for a new IDE is not so easy because of that. Something that would make it much easier is if there there a installer/updater what only exchanged/added the new files needed into the already downloaded IDE. What would make it easier for non-geeks to download the IDE too. My dad (owner of KDAB) already talked about making something like that for the Arduino IDE, but he hasn't enough time.

I have left the previous Arduino folder as it is. Just drop the new files and overwrite the old set. Separately "installed" libraries stays, unless newer version with the same name are added in to new IDE-package. All my codes are elsewhere safe, where other documents are as well.

Now I must ask if there's any problems coming with that method? Arduino IDE don't change anything in Windows, so it should be ok? Everything works fine, but is there something that should be aware?

Cheers,Kari

The only law for me; Ohms Law: U=R*I P=U*INote to self: "Damn! Why don't you just fix it!!!"

I don't mess around with all those complicated steps, I just download it, then double click it. You get a window with the arduino app, and an alias of the Applications folder, and you just drag the app to the folder. That's it -- it just works!

Now I must ask if there's any problems coming with that method? Arduino IDE don't change anything in Windows, so it should be ok? Everything works fine, but is there something that should be aware?

Umm, there shouldn't be any issues but you'll end up with a load of unused old files.

It would be better (as has been discussed before), if user libraries can be loaded from user documents locations. Then the old IDE could be deleted, a new one loaded and the user-added libraries would remain.IDE bundled libraries would be updated with no effect on user libraries.

Well, that is not a problem. Every now and then I can do a cleaning, but what is few hundred extra megabytes with these new computers...

My point was that so called installation with never packages over he old is simple.

But it would be a nice improvement to be able to combine at least two different independent library sets. Users responsibility would be to check that there is no two identically named libraries. Maybe we get that option someday, but I'm good with this.

Cheers,Kari

The only law for me; Ohms Law: U=R*I P=U*INote to self: "Damn! Why don't you just fix it!!!"

There's a nugget of a good idea tucked in here, I think. Has anyone given thought to something similar to Perl's CPAN (or Python's cheeseshop/easy_install/pip, or Ruby's gem)? ie. a simple means of distributing libraries of code to users in a useful manner? Good IDE integration could make for a pretty painless new user experience.

(Mind you, the problem of one library making use of another in a uniform, cross-platform manner probably needs to be addressed first.)

Libraries that are shipped with the IDE live there, and you can install libraries there if you like, but you can also install them in a "libraries" subdirectory of your sketch folder. This is "kind of a big deal" on Linux, where the distribution may have supplied a package of the Arduino IDE, which a normal user account wouldn't have permission to write to.

-EdFelix qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas.

JanD

I didn't think this would make up discussion like this. But the solution just to have two different library paths would do it.Something for the future (and I mean future): Then pressing update in the IDE it automatic updates the program code of the IDE, core files etc. it then looks in some place there as many as possible libraries are located if any library that you have downloaded has a new version. If that's the case it downloads the new version of that library. As sad, for the future.\